Take a look at our November newsletter!
November 2020
720 Goodlette Rd. N, Suite 304, Naples, FL 34102 • www.AttorneyShapiro.com
The Bitter and the Sweet Finding the Good in 2020 This month is traditionally when we all sit down with our families and enjoy a feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. We even top it off with pie and whipped cream! While the meal itself is delicious, it’s the sentiment behind the holiday that I believe is the most important part of Thanksgiving. As we celebrate what is likely going to be one of the most unique Thanksgiving celebrations in many of our lives, I can’t help but think of one Turkey Day, where I learned a valuable lesson from my young son. On this particular holiday, we were going around the table saying what we were most thankful for, and when we asked my son that question, we weren’t entirely sure what his answer would be, nor did we expect anything too profound. He’s just a kid, but he also faces big challenges. For those who don’t know, my son has autism. He can’t speak, but he does have a device that he uses to communicate with us. However, because of his disability, he doesn’t pay attention and he moves into strange positions. Sometimes, he’s difficult to understand, but he’s just trying to fit into a world that’s entirely too overwhelming for him. Still, that Thanksgiving, my son typed out that he was most thankful for medicine. We were stunned. We had no idea that he was cognitively even aware of what was going on around him, much less that he could spell medicine ! That day, eight letters typed out by my son taught me one simple thing. No matter how much you’re going through, no matter how difficult life may be, and no matter how overstimulating your world is, there’s always something you can be grateful for. As they say, the sweet isn’t sweet without the bitter. We may not fully know what my son meant by “medicine,” but it was clear that he was paying attention to the care he was receiving and felt its impacts. This year has put everything into perspective. I’ve come to appreciate much more than I have before. It’s not as easy anymore to meet with friends for dinner or to go to the store without worrying about a mask
or frequently sanitizing our hands. It would be easy to focus on the negative and what we lost this year, but I instead choose to focus on what’s been good. For starters, The Law Offices of Marc L. Shapiro, P.A. has been able to function almost completely remotely. We’ve approached our tasks differently, including remote notarization, and we’ve even been more efficient than we were back at the office. It’s amazing how what was seen as an inconvenience is now changing the way we do business. As an unexpected surprise, we’ve also witnessed insurance companies offering higher payouts for deserving clients. With fewer drivers on the road, there are fewer claims filed to the insurance companies, and in turn, they are willing to better compensate their claimants. This reduction in accidents has also had an effect on the staff at our office as well! While other law firms have been downsizing in response to fewer claims, our firm has been able to acquire their very talented former employees. We’ve been in a much better position to take on this top-level talent while expanding during an unprecedented time. Gratitude may not be easy to find this year, but some good has come out of 2020. No matter how tough things may seem right now, it will get better and you will get through it.
-Marc L. Shapiro
Happy Thanksgiving,
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Zesty Orange Cranberry Sauce you of the event; irritability, anxiety, or depression; and insomnia. A licensed medical professional can diagnose this disorder and prescribe proper treatment, including medication and therapy. No. 2: How to Prove PTSD as a Result Like any aspect of a case, in order to claim PTSD as viable for compensation, victims must prove that it has occurred as a result of Overcoming Mental Hurdle Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common condition often linked to military service, but it can appear after a number of violent events — including car accidents, slip-and-fall events, and even workplace injuries. Because of the intensity and paralyzing mental constraints of PTSD, it can be properly compensated under Florida law. If you believe you are the victim of PTSD following an accident, here are three things you need to know before filing a claim. No. 1: How to Identify PTSD Before a claim can be made for PTSD, there has to be a diagnosis. Commonly, PTSD manifests itself as physical reactions to mental trauma. For many victims, regardless of the trauma, symptoms include nightmares of the event; physical reactions to sights, sounds, or smells that remind
Top 5 Healthy Life Hacks to Have an Awesome Morning Getting your day started with coffee isn’t always enough. Sometimes, you need to give yourself an extra boost, especially when you have little energy or trouble focusing. For an awesome start to your day, here are five tips to get you going right off the bat. Wake up 5 minutes early. What’s the power of five minutes? It can be more than you think. Spend this time doing simple breathing exercises or a quick meditation so you can get focused for the rest of the day. If that’s not your style, you can prepare a quick to-do list for your day ahead. Either way, it’s always nice to
have a little extra time for yourself without losing too much sleep. Start with green tea, then coffee.
A cup of coffee at 7 a.m. can leave you
burned out by 10 a.m. Try swapping it with green tea for a more gentle wake-up call. After that, you can brew your favorite coffee to keep you
going strong. This practice also might help you consume less caffeine overall! Take a quick morning walk — and have your meetings on the go.
Morning meetings can make us want to fall asleep again. Don’t spend all of them sitting down if you don’t have to! Not only will morning walks help you wake up, but they can also add some extra physical activity to your day. Write in your journal. Who says you have to journal at the end of the day when you’re tired and ready to sleep? You can journal in the morning about what happened yesterday and the things you’re looking forward to that day. Journaling can remind you of your daily goals and motivate you to stick to your commitments. Pack your lunch (or snacks!). Staying on track with your goals starts with having the energy to do them. Plan a healthy balance of fats, vegetables, carbohydrates, and proteins. This can be as simple as assembling dips, carrots, wraps, and salads each morning.
It’s time to try these tactics to jump-start your day!
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‘They Fought for Us’ What This Client Has to Say About Us
How Florida Courts Compensate Victims for PTSD es the accident. Tangible items will go a long way in supporting your claims. These could include medical records, witness statements, police reports, video recordings, and photographs. No. 3: What Can Be Claimed The courts treat PTSD and other emotional and mental disorders that occur as the result of an accident just like physical injuries. Claimants can be properly compensated for medical expenses, loss of income due to missed work, and the compensatory damages that come with pain and suffering. If it’s provable in court, you have a right to payment just as you would for a broken arm, a brain injury, or balance issues. At The Law Offices of Marc L. Shapiro, P.A. , we know that mental injuries can be just as debilitating as physical ones. We can help you find the resources and compensation you need to heal when you are suffering from PTSD. Call us today to learn more.
“This office was so helpful and did so much for my family and me! They fought for us and made sure we had what we needed after the accident! They kept in touch with me throughout the entire case, even checking in on me. I highly recommend them to anyone who is in need of a personal injury attorney! Gerta is so amazing and will explain everything to you!!” –Jamie L.
How AreWe Doing? Your reviews offer us valuable feedback, but when you recommend our services to others, that’s the ultimate form of praise! Please tell us and your loved ones about your experiences with the Law Offices of Marc L. Shapiro, P.A., on Google or on Facebook.com/attorneyshapirolaw. Your comments empower us, make us better, and allow us to help as many people as possible.
You can also learn more about your case, car accident prevention, and other protections on our blog at AttorneyShapiro.com/blog.
Skip the can-shaped cranberry sauce this year and bring a jar of homemade sauce to Thanksgiving instead. This easy recipe can be made ahead of the big event and keeps for 10 days in the fridge.
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Ingredients
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1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
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1/2 cup water
COBBLER CRANBERRY
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3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
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12 oz fresh cranberries
ELECTION FOOTBALL NOVEL SAGITTARIUS THANKSGIVING TOPAZ TURKEY VETERANS VOTING WINDY
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2 tsp orange zest
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Salt to taste
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the orange juice, water, and sugar to a boil. Add other ingredients, then bring mixture back to boiling. 2. Reduce the heat to medium and cook gently for 10–12 minutes, until the cranberries burst. 3. Transfer the sauce to a bowl or jar, cover, and refrigerate until serving.
Inspired by OnceUponAChef.com
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720 Goodlette Rd. N, Suite 304 Naples, FL 34102 www.AttorneyShapiro.com
Inside Practicing Gratitude During This Difficult Year Page 1 Top 5 Healthy Life Hacks to Have an Awesome Morning
Can I Be Compensated for PTSD? Zesty Orange Cranberry Sauce Page 2 Let’s Hear From Our Clients Page 3 How a Thanksgiving Dinner Mix-Up Led to the TV Dinner Page 4
A Meal for the Changing American Home How a Thanksgiving Dinner Mix-Up Led to the TV Dinner
Would you believe that Thanksgiving dinner — a meal dedicated to home cooking, family time, and, well, being thankful —was directly responsible for the invention of the TV dinner, the ultimate manifestation of the solitary, processed meal? If you are a little suspicious of that fact, you’re not alone. But, the connection is real. Those little frozen meals on trays were the result of a Turkey Day mix-up of epic proportions. The year was 1953. That fall, the frozen food company C.A. Swanson & Sons drastically overestimated how many Americans would want a turkey as the centerpiece of their Thanksgiving spread, leaving them with about 260 tons of extra turkey packed into 10 refrigerated railroad cars. They needed a way to sell this surplus quickly because they had to keep running the train cars back and forth between the East Coast and the Midwest to generate the electricity needed to keep the turkey from spoiling. The company sent out a bulletin asking if any of their employees had a solution to the problem. Swanson salesman Gerry Thomas had a winning idea. He suggested they package up the remaining turkey with a few sides as frozen dinners that would be ready to eat after being thawed. The twist? They would be served in compartmentalized aluminum trays, much like airplane meals,
which were the inspiration for Thomas’ idea. Additionally, they would be marketed as “TV dinners,”with their packaging designed to look like a television set. By 1954, roughly half of American households had TVs. Over the next 10 years, that figure jumped to 92%. As the TV rose in prominence in American living rooms, the TV dinner’s popularity increased exponentially. Swanson sold nearly 10 million of them during the first year of production. By 1959, Americans spent half a billion dollars gobbling up TV dinners.
Several other phenomena have been linked to the advent
of the TV dinner, such as the erosion of the
traditional family dinner and a preference for TV entertainment over family conversation during mealtime. It’s hard to believe it all happened because of one Thanksgiving Day with too much turkey!
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